Manager of Occupational Initiatives

Goodwill NYNJ; New York (NY); On-site; USD 95,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

Goodwill NYNJ is seeking a Manager of Occupational Initiatives in Brooklyn to lead targeted training programs across the Mission Division. You will coordinate planning, implementation, and continuous improvement of occupational training, with a focus on curriculum alignment, employer partnerships, and outcome tracking.

The role entails cross-functional leadership, stakeholder engagement, and developing career pathways that connect training to employment and wage progression.

Qualifications

• Bachelor degree preferred.
• 5+ years workforce development, training, employer engagement, or related experience.
• Strong project management, partnership development, communication, and data analysis skills.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate planning, launch, delivery, and continuous improvement of targeted occupational training programs.
• Develop implementation plans, participant flow processes, training schedules, benchmarks, and outcome expectations.
• Monitor completion, credential attainment, retention, and placement outcomes.
• Identify operational gaps and recommend improvements to strengthen training effectiveness, participant retention, and employment outcomes.
• Partner with internal staff, instructors, training providers, employers, and industry stakeholders to review and strengthen curriculum content.
• Ensure curricula reflect occupational standards, employer expectations, workplace readiness needs, credential requirements, and sector-specific competencies.
• Support the creation or refinement of training materials, work-based learning components, employer feedback loops, and participant assessment tools.
• Use data and employer feedback to recommend curriculum updates and training model improvements.
• Build and manage partnerships with employers, industry associations, training providers, credentialing organizations, sector intermediaries, public agencies, and community partners.
• Translate employer and industry needs into training improvements, recruitment priorities, curriculum updates, and placement strategies.
• Serve as a key liaison between training programs and external partners to support commitments, feedback, hiring pipelines, and long-term partnership development.
• Represent workforce training initiatives at employer meetings, sector convenings, funder discussions, and community partnership opportunities.
• Develop and strengthen career pathway models that connect occupational training to employment, advancement, wage progression, and credential attainment.
• Identify opportunities to expand training pathways into new sectors, employer partnerships, and advancement tracks.
• Collaborate with internal teams to ensure participants receive clear pathway guidance, employment preparation, and post-training support.
• Track pathway outcomes and use findings to inform program growth, funder reporting, and strategic planning.
• Provide functional leadership across staff, vendors, partners, and initiatives.
• Lead workgroups and coordinate implementation across programs.
• Produce data-informed reports on training performance, employer engagement, participant progression, placement outcomes, and partnership impact.
• Identify trends, risks, opportunities, and growth areas across the training-to-employment pipeline.
• Contribute to grant reporting, funder updates, strategic planning, and organizational growth conversations.
• Support the development of scalable models that can be adapted across programs, populations, and priority industries within the Mission Division.

Skills

Project management

Partnership development

Data analysis

Communication

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor degree

Job description

Manager of Occupational Initiatives

Division: Mission Division

Classification: Full-Time | Manager-Level

Location: Brooklyn, NY

Reports To: SVP, Workforce Development

Experience Level: Manager-Level | 5-7+ Years

Position Summary

The Manager of Occupational Initiatives is a functional leadership role responsible for coordinating, strengthening, and expanding targeted occupational training initiatives across the Mission Division. The position oversees training implementation, curriculum alignment, employer engagement, industry partnerships, career pathway development, and training-to-employment outcomes.

Occupational Training Coordination & Implementation

• Coordinate planning, launch, delivery, and continuous improvement of targeted occupational training programs.
• Develop implementation plans, participant flow processes, training schedules, benchmarks, and outcome expectations.
• Monitor completion, credential attainment, retention, and placement outcomes.
• Identify operational gaps and recommend improvements to strengthen training effectiveness, participant retention, and employment outcomes.

Curriculum Development & Training Quality

• Partner with internal staff, instructors, training providers, employers, and industry stakeholders to review and strengthen curriculum content.
• Ensure curricula reflect occupational standards, employer expectations, workplace readiness needs, credential requirements, and sector-specific competencies.
• Support the creation or refinement of training materials, work-based learning components, employer feedback loops, and participant assessment tools.
• Use data and employer feedback to recommend curriculum updates and training model improvements.

Employer Engagement & Industry Partnerships

• Build and manage partnerships with employers, industry associations, training providers, credentialing organizations, sector intermediaries, public agencies, and community partners.
• Translate employer and industry needs into training improvements, recruitment priorities, curriculum updates, and placement strategies.
• Serve as a key liaison between training programs and external partners to support commitments, feedback, hiring pipelines, and long-term partnership development.
• Represent workforce training initiatives at employer meetings, sector convenings, funder discussions, and community partnership opportunities.

Career Pathway Development

• Develop and strengthen career pathway models that connect occupational training to employment, advancement, wage progression, and credential attainment.
• Identify opportunities to expand training pathways into new sectors, employer partnerships, and advancement tracks.
• Collaborate with internal teams to ensure participants receive clear pathway guidance, employment preparation, and post-training support.
• Track pathway outcomes and use findings to inform program growth, funder reporting, and strategic planning.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Provide functional leadership across staff, vendors, partners, and initiatives.
• Lead workgroups and coordinate implementation across programs.

Data, Reporting & Strategic Growth

• Produce data-informed reports on training performance, employer engagement, participant progression, placement outcomes, and partnership impact.
• Identify trends, risks, opportunities, and growth areas across the training-to-employment pipeline.
• Contribute to grant reporting, funder updates, strategic planning, and organizational growth conversations.
• Support the development of scalable models that can be adapted across programs, populations, and priority industries within the Mission Division.

Qualifications

• Bachelor degree preferred.
• 5+ years workforce development, training, employer engagement, or related experience.
• Strong project management, partnership development, communication, and data analysis skills.

Competencies for Success

• Functional Leadership
• Systems Thinking
• Industry Alignment
• Implementation Management
• Career Pathway Orientation
• Data-Informed Decision Making
• Growth Mindset

Growth Trajectory

This position is intentionally structured to grow. Strong performers will be positioned to take on expanded organizational responsibilities and leadership.